


His Father's Son

by Sadaralo



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-17 23:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2326922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadaralo/pseuds/Sadaralo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Headcanon/what if type scenario.  Some will like it, some won't.  Admiral Pike discovers that Jim really is his son, but he's not sure if telling him is the right thing to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Letters Unsent

The outdated datapadd was addressed to one Ensign Christopher Pike. It felt like it weighed a ton in the strong hands of Captain James Tiberius Kirk; the same ton as the weight of all the questions swimming in his head about what possibly his own mother, Winona would have had to write to her son’s father figure so many years ago.  The young starship captain itched to know the contents of that datapadd, ached to know what secrets it contained, but then he shook his head forcefully to clear it and tossed the datapadd onto the bed.  It would be a violation of privacy.  There were no secrets he was certain.  Kirk had never known his mother to make a misstep and certainly Admiral Pike was the paragon of virtue.  They were probably just old Starfleet Academy chums or shipmates early in their careers and this was just a boring, keep in touch letter that his mother had forgotten to hit the send button on.

 

Still… now that she was gone, Kirk was faced with a different dilemma. Now it wasn’t too read or not to read, but whether or not to forward the datapadd to his straight laced father figure.  There was likely nothing earth shattering on that datapadd so Kirk saw no harm in slipping the datapadd to Pike the next time he saw him.  Still, the datapadd mocked and taunted him with its contents…

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Bright blue eyed James T. Kirk entered Admiral Pike’s office the following morning, datapadd in hand. He’d gotten a few odd looks from those who noticed the nearly three decades old device in his hands, but he thought nothing of it.  He was too preoccupied with the events of the last week.  The accident that had taken Winona Kirk’s life had been sudden and completely unexpected, but Kirk had drawn some comfort in the belief that his parents were together again at long last.  His older brother, Sam had often mentioned that she was never quite the same after the loss of their father so perhaps she’d found peace now.

 

Kirk found Admiral Pike staring pensively out the window of his office. The two men had spoken almost daily since Kirk had taken emergency leave several days prior.  They’d even met for a few brews on a few occasions. 

 

Sensing a presence in the doorway, the older man turned to face Kirk, glancing down with curiosity at the old style datapadd in Kirk’s hand. Holding it up and out, Kirk walked over to Pike.

 

“I found this among my mother’s possessions. It is probably nothing important, but it was addressed to you so I thought you should have it.”

 

An odd look covered Pike’s features as he took the datapadd; one Kirk hadn’t seen on his mentor’s face before and couldn’t interpret. It was akin to something like surprise, but there was an element of some other emotion.

 

“I didn’t realize you knew my parents. I knew you’d written that dissertation on the Kelvin, but actually met them…”

 

“It was a long time ago, James,” Pike cut him off, his voice a soft whisper, but there was an edge to it that told Kirk that Pike didn’t want to talk about it, at least not at the moment.

 

“If you don’t mind…,” Pike continued as he powered up the datapadd and opened the lone file. “I’d like to read this alone now.  We’ll talk soon, I promise.”

 

Kirk’s brows furrowed in confusion, but he simply nodded to his superior officer and retreated from Pike’s spacious office quietly, the door hissing shut in his wake.

 

Pike slowly lowered himself into his desk chair and leaned back, finding it surreal to be reading a letter written to him over a quarter of a century ago; a letter that hadn’t found its way to him at that time. He swallowed hard, not sure if the wilder years of his youth were about to catch up with him.

 

_Dear Chris,_

_I wish I knew where to start, but the honest truth is I don’t and I’m not even sure that I’ll have the courage to send this to you even if I should finish it. I’m still haunted, weeks later, by the pain and the questions I saw in your eyes when you bumped into me and little Jim in the courtyard.  I wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t know what to say if I’d tried._

_George and I discussed what happened during the brief time we were separated and we made our peace with it before his death a year ago. I miss him more than words can say.  I was able to tell him the truth, but I’d told you almost nothing but lies; lies about who I was and that I was married.  I just wanted to escape the pain and forget who I was for a while, but I shouldn’t have used another to help me do that._

_Apologies aren’t enough, but I feel I still owe you one. I didn’t handle things well, certainly not like a Starfleet officer would, and I let my selfish impulses get in the way of maturity.  I knew there could be consequences for my behavior, but I hadn’t imagined anything on this scale._

_I still haven’t told you the whole truth though, Chris. And I’m not sure if at this point, it would do more harm than good.  You spoke of becoming a starship captain with such enthusiasm and I don’t want to ruin that for you, please believe that._

_Chris… James is your son._

_I had the paternity test done a few months after George’s death and he’s yours. I’d told George that there was a possibility that James wasn’t his, but he said he wanted to leave it in the past and that it didn’t matter to him who James’ biological father was.  When I pointed out that you’d have a right to know if the baby was yours, George convinced me to let you go on with your career.  Now that he’s gone, I find myself revisiting my feelings about this.  I honestly don’t know what the best thing for everyone is.  James deserves a father, but you also don’t deserve to have your life plans disrupted because of one woman’s selfish behavior._

_I’m not sure if I’m ready to send this just yet. It helps to just get it into writing.  Perhaps soon I will gather the strength to send it._

_I’m not asking for forgiveness, Chris. All I’m hoping for is that if this ever falls into your hands that our son can find a place in your life and your heart._

_Winona_

 

Pike stared at the datapadd in disbelief, still trying to absorb the contents. His emotions were a jumble and he had no clue where to start unraveling them.  His life would have been so very different if he’d received this letter when it had been written.  A very guilty part of him was still grateful that he’d had the career he’d wanted, but the son he’d never known about had grown up without a decent father.  Despite not being told about young James, Pike still felt like he’d shirked a responsibility along the way.  He should have pushed to talk to Winona when he’d seen them in the Academy courtyard that day.  Seeing the baby in her arms, he had suspected that the boy could have been his, but he didn’t make enough of an effort to find out.

 

Memories of the first day he met Jim flooded his mind. So impulsive, wild, and reckless.  Would he have been different if he’d had his father to guide him when he was a child. 

 

Tossing the datapadd onto the desk, Pike let out a deep breath and swung his chair so he could gaze out the window once again.

 

What would he say to Jim the next time he saw him? Should he even say anything to him?

 

_Maybe something to the effect of this is what happens when you leap without looking… The hallmark of the young._

 

His relationship with Jim was already very much like father and son, but would revealing this information change all that?

 

Pike wasn’t certain he was ready to find out.


	2. Confirmations

Deciding to put in for a couple hours of accumulated leave time, Starfleet’s newest rear admiral hurried over from the main command building to the headquarters section of Starfleet Medical in the next building. Jim had mentioned that Dr. Leonard McCoy had decided to take some leave time to support his good friend Jim while he dealt with the family emergency of his mother’s death.  Pike was hoping to find the irascible physician and enlist his help in confirming the shocking revelations in Winona’s letter without alerting Jim.  If anyone could find a believable excuse to run a physical on Jim, it would be McCoy.  And if Pike was lucky, McCoy could do this without bothering Jim at all.  Pike wasn’t ready to talk to Jim about it and Jim was quick to feel out when something was amiss.  Pike didn’t want the questions just yet.

 

As it turned out, locating McCoy hadn’t been difficult. He was anal retentive about making sure he could be reached at all times and he’d agreed to meet the admiral back in his office.  His eyebrows had furrowed in confusion at the request to bring his medical kit and Jim’s medical files.

 

“You wanted to see me, Admiral?” McCoy said.  His tone had that gruff edge to it as usual.  Even for superior officers, the young physician found it difficult to soften his rougher edges.  It didn’t matter in medical matters as his professional medical opinion was final.  It gave him leeway others didn’t get.

 

“I did,” Pike gestured for McCoy to grab a chair and pull it around to Pike’s side of the desk. That definitely piqued the doctor’s curiosity and his concern.  Whatever was going on, Pike was worried about it and also apparently wanted to keep it as private as possible.  It had to be extremely personal.

 

Pike took a deep breath as he pondered how best to explain this to McCoy. He was grateful that McCoy was Jim’s friend.  He knew he could count on this man’s advice and also know that McCoy would do what was best for everyone.  He and Jim needed that right now, even though Jim didn’t know it yet.

 

“I’m not sure where to begin…,” Pike said solemnly. The barest hint of a self deprecating smile tugged at the corners of his thin lips.  “Jim was going through his mother’s personal effects and found an old datapadd with a letter on it addressed to me from his mother.  The letter is over 25 years old and she never sent it to me.  Jim may be my son, doctor. Winona said he was in the letter; even mentioned a paternity test, but the results weren’t in the contents of the letter.  It’s a long story, doctor, but I did sleep with her during the short time she and George were separated and going through a rough patch in their marriage.  I freely admit that Jim really could be mine, but I want the tests to confirm it before I say anything about this letter to Jim.”

 

McCoy’s dark brown eyes widened in surprise. He would never have imagined straightlaced, prim and proper Admiral Pike would have anything like an illicit affair as part of any skeleton collection in his past.  But then, maybe his mistakes as a youth made him the more cautious, restrained, and  thoughtful man sitting before him.

 

“I understand, Admiral. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy to read that after so many years.  And now there is no way of knowing why she didn’t send it,” McCoy said gently as he snapped open his medical kit and made a few scans of Admiral Pike.  He set the computer about comparing the scans of Pike’s DNA against those of young Jim Kirk’s and determining if Jim was in fact, Pike’s biological son.

 

Even though the computer had the results back nearly immediately, those few heartbeats of anticipation felt like eternity to the unusually impatient former starship captain.

 

McCoy glanced at the results and nodded. “It’s a match, Admiral.  Jim is your son.”

 

Pike’s breath caught in his throat, still surprised by the results even though he’d never doubted the possibility.

 

McCoy bit back the sarcastic quip that came as natural to him as breathing, but in this situation comments about whether or not being Jim’s father was something to be congratulated about was probably in poor taste. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut.

 

“Is there any other way I can be of help, Admiral? I know this has to be difficult for you.”

 

Pike shook his head. There was so much about this news to absorb and process.  He was a father; a father who had missed out on being a father for most of his child’s life.  Jim had paid the price for his parents’ youthful foolishness.

 

“I’m not sure yet. I- I need some time to really let this sink in before I make any decisions.  I’m concerned about how this will affect Jim personally and professionally, especially if it ever gets out.  And what if it changes my whole relationship with him?  Starfleet might not let me mentor him the same way if it becomes an issue of nepotism.  And what if he hates me for not being there for him when he was a child?”

 

“Jim isn’t going to hate you, Admiral. And there are other ways to influence him outside of Starfleet, Admiral,” McCoy said softly.  “Jim will be lucky to have you for a father, especially since you were one to him in a lot of ways before you got that letter.”

 

“Thank you, doctor,” Pike smiled genuinely as he stood and reached for his cane. He rounded his desk and clapped McCoy on the shoulder as McCoy stood as well.  Returning his chair to the other side of Pike’s large desk, McCoy followed the Admiral out of the office.

 

“I’m going for a walk to clear my head and get some things sorted out. Have a good one, doctor.”

 

Pike limped down the opposite corridor from the one McCoy needed to get back to the turbolifts and the two parted company. McCoy found himself worried about two friends now.  Pike just worried about Jim.  His son.

 


	3. How I Met Your Mother

The walk through the labyrinthine corridors of Starfleet Headquarters had done little to clear Pike’s head as he ambled toward the exit. Perhaps some actual fresh air would do the trick.  The events of Jim’s birth just kept dancing over and over in Pike’s mind.

 

_22 year old Ensign Christopher Pike dropped himself onto a bar stool in his favorite watering hole near Starfleet Academy.  These were soon to be old stomping grounds for the young man as he was due to ship out on his first deep space assignment in just a weeks.  Weeks that as far as the eager and energetic new ensign was concerned would feel like eternity._

_The bartender materialized in front of Pike and then disappeared again for a few moments only to return with the desired brew. He took a sip and grinned to himself, his excitement about his upcoming posting showing from the inside out._

_On the stool next to him came a feminine chuckle. Pike turned to find a pretty young woman with long blonde hair and big blue eyes grinning at him.  She looked a little older than him, but not by much.  He certainly wouldn’t have said she’d busted 30 yet._

_“Someone just graduated the Academy and got his first posting,” she said knowingly._

_A shy, but still enthusiastic smile spread over Pike’s face. “Guilty as charged.  Was it that obvious?”_

_“Well considering that the last Academy class just graduated, you’re in uniform, and you appear to have so much energy you might reach warp at any second, it wasn’t that tough to figure out.”_

_She took a long sip of her own drink, her expression wistful. “And I remember what that felt like myself. Winona,” she said, extending her right hand._

_Pike took the smaller hand gently and held onto it for a long moment. “Christopher Pike, but just Chris is fine.”_

_“What do you say we get out of here, Chris?”_

_W^^^W^^^W_

_Anyone who knew Christopher Pike at that time or any other would have said the idea that he’d dally in one night stands or have affairs with married women was preposterous. Pike himself would have said that.  The problem here was that he was anticipating seeing Winona again, though he had no idea how he’d work a long distance relationship should it come to that, and she’d failed to disclose rather pertinent information about her marital status._

_And so it was that he’d invited her back to his place for his a late supper which had been followed by him playing his guitar for her, and a bit of slow dancing. The dancing had turned to lovemaking and though Pike only had a few weeks left before he shipped out, he knew he wanted to spend the remainder of those nights loving Winona._

_W^^^W^^^W_

_For Winona Kirk, the evening had progressed farther than she’d originally intended. Well, that wasn’t entirely honest.  When she’d asked Pike to get out of the bar with her, she definitely wanted more to do with the handsome young officer.  The problem was what she wanted with him pricked her conscience, just not enough to stop her from pursuing the physical relationship she decided she wanted from him._

_The separation from George was painful, there was no denying that. They had been arguing about whether or not families aboard starships was a good idea.  She was tired of her and little Sam being left behind on ground assignments. They never had been able to agree on anything or reach a compromise.   But she had no idea how to fix it.  And when Winona had no idea how to fix something, she tended to bury her head in the sand and do what she wanted rather than do what was responsible and right.  It was a failing that sometimes bit her in the ass._

_But like a moth to a flame, Winona couldn’t help her impulsive nature and in Christopher Pike’s arms that night, she felt alive again._

_W^^^W^^^W_

_The afternoon before Pike and his classmates were to ship out, they drifted over to the local watering hole for one last night out to celebrate. Pike spotted Winona playing darts with a few lady friends of her own and he pointed her out to his friend and superior officer, Alexander Marcus._

_Alex stared at Winona for a long moment before turning to Pike in amazement and confusion.  Dread settled in his stomach like a lead weight as he noticed the look on his younger friend’s face.  He had a feeling Pike had no clue who she really was._

_“Chris…,” Alex began hesitantly. “That’s Winona Kirk.  Commander Kirk’s wife.”_

_Pike could only stare up at Alex in stunned disbelief._

_It was then that Winona spotted them out of the corner of her eye.  A smile began when she saw Chris, but vanished when she saw Lieutenant Commander Marcus.  She knew he knew who she was and that meant he’d tell Pike, at least if Pike made any mention of seeing her._

_The pain in Pike’s gray blue eyes told her that was exactly what had just happened. She could only watch helplessly as Pike rushed from the room at warp speed.  She wanted to follow and explain, but words would be meaningless at this point.  She hadn’t meant to hurt him.  It never occurred to her he’d get so attached to her in such a short period of time.  But then, it wouldn’t be her if there wasn’t a swath of destruction left in her wake._

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Slowly and gently lowering himself onto a bench out in the courtyard, Pike let his head fall back against the wall behind him and looked up to the sky. A long sigh escaped him and he swallowed hard as the remembered pain welled up inside him after all these years.  That had been his first experience with a broken heart, though not his last.  The irony that he’d meet his son in a bar when that had been the type of establishment he’d met the boy’s mother in was not lost on the admiral and he laughed out loud.  In good ways and bad ways, James was definitely his mother’s son.


	4. He Calls Him Son

A few nights of tossing and turning later and Pike still was no closer to deciding the best way to tell Jim the truth. He wanted to ask for advice from those who knew Jim best and from friends who were parents, but guilt pricked him again.  It wasn’t fair to Jim to be the last one to know the truth about his father.  He’d have to muddle through this one like he had every other challenge with his wayward son. 

 

Realizing Jim would only be on Earth a short while longer, Pike messaged him and instructed the Enterprise’s captain to meet him there at 1800 hours.  A bar seemed appropriate for this revelation as they’d both need drinks when it was over, Pike was sure.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

As it happened, Jim had beat Pike to the brews and was situated on a barstool on the far left. Normally, the younger man would sit in the center where he’d be easily the center of attention and noticeable to the bartender.  Today though, he’d relocated to a slightly more secluded spot.  Jim had picked up on the gravity in his mentor’s message and anticipated the desire for some privacy.  Jim just wished he knew what was so serious that Pike seemed so uptight and exhausted.  There was no shortage of gray hair on the admiral’s head or fine lines on his handsome face, but this evening he looked like he’d aged ten years over night.  The lack of sleep and stress over whatever was haunting him looked to be taking its toll.

 

Pike dragged himself up to the bar with his cane, each step harder than the last, and lowered himself onto the stool next to Jim. A fatherly smiled tugged at his lips as Jim looked over.  The worry about his mentor was evident on Kirk’s face.

 

“I’ll be alright, Jim. I promise.”

 

Jim looked skeptical. “You’d better or else I’ll have to send Bones over on a housecall.”

 

They sat in silence for a long moment and Pike flagged down the bartender, ordering up some whiskey. Kirk’s bright blue eyes widened in stunned disbelief.  “Whiskey?!  You?!  I’m afraid to ask what it is you want to tell me.”

 

“You should be,” Pike smirked, hints of mischief dancing in his eyes. “I’m going to tell you something that will seem unbelievable, but is true nonetheless.  Dr. McCoy confirmed it for me.”

 

Pike handed over the datapadd he’d carried in with him. It contained the results of the scan the good doctor had performed a few days prior.

 

Kirk took it almost hesitantly, both confused and curious. He activated it and scrolled through the contents.  He simply stared at the report for a long moment as if not really seeing it.  Finally, with an unimaginable effort, he jerked his head back up to stare at Pike with wide, questioning eyes.

 

“I’m your biological father, Jim,” Pike said softly. “I slept with your mother shortly after I graduated from Starfleet Academy.  She never told me she was married and she never told me about you.  I had no idea until you brought me the datapadd you found in her personal effects.”

 

Though Pike could understand the young man’s shocked, silent stare, he was unnerved by the deafening silence between them. He wanted Kirk to say something, anything.  He had to know they’d be okay.

 

“I’m not trying to make excuses,” Pike continued. “Not knowing that she was married isn’t an excuse.  I should have made more of an effort to get to know her.  Instead, I did what a lot of young men did and I leapt before I looked.  A pretty young woman was interested in me and I didn’t think about the consequences before taking her to bed.”

 

Jim tossed his shot back, but still didn’t say anything. He just stared into his now empty shot glass.  That worried Pike.  He was used to smartass Jim, always with the witty barb or sarcastic comeback.  Always with the last word.  He’d expected Kirk to try and joke his way through this and Pike was shocked that it hadn’t happened.

 

“Hindsight is 20/20. I should have followed up with Winona to make sure I didn’t have a child to help her support, but I just didn’t think of doing that,” Pike said, shaking his head in self recrimination.  “I thought she’d contact me if she needed me.  George did send me a subspace message months later to tell me that Winona had told him the truth about the affair and that she hadn’t told me she was married.  He said he didn’t hold me accountable and that I shouldn’t go on feeling guilty and mortified like apparently our mutual friend Alex had confided in him that I was doing.  He said nothing about your mother’s pregnancy though.  If he had, I would have done everything I could to learn the truth.  I would have been in your life, Jim.”

 

Pike swallowed hard and for the first time in a long time, tears clouded his stormy blue gray eyes. He knocked back his own shot, feeling the whiskey burn the back of his throat just as Winona’s lies had scorched his heart so many years ago.

 

“Better late than never.”

 

Pike looked up at Jim in surprise and found tears misting the other man’s eyes as well. He hadn’t expected that.  He really hadn’t known what to expect from Jim, but it hadn’t been that.

 

Grown men weren’t supposed to cry so both were fighting back the tears as if they were fighting Klingons back from the Neutral Zone. Finally, Pike stood and faced Kirk, holding out his hand.  When Kirk took it, Pike pulled him into a tight hug, remembering the first time he’d met the younger man in that other dive bar.  He’d remarked that Jim was his father’s son.  He wasn’t so sure now how much Jim was like his real father, but the remark three years later as Jim assumed command of the Enterprise about how proud Jim’s father would be of him couldn’t have been more true.

 

For Jim, things couldn’t have worked out better. The man he’d thought of as a father for the last five years turned out to be his biological father.  He couldn’t fight back the smartass remark though as it bubbled to the surface like bubbles in a champagne glass.

 

“Do I still have to call you Admiral though?”

 

“If you want to keep my ship…,” Pike grinned evilly. He sobered up again quickly though.  He used to believe nothing good could come of lies.

 

But now, holding his own son close, Pike had to admit that wasn’t true. Though Winona had caused him extreme pain, she’d also given him a gift he never thought he’d have with his career in Starfleet.  He’d called Jim son before, but now it would have even more meaning.

 

“No, you don’t really have to call me admiral now, son. Well, in some circumstances, but generally speaking… no.”

 

“Does this mean I get to make up for all those years of lost time?”

 

“If by that do you mean do you get to make my life a living hell, that would be a big negative, James.”

 

Jim spared his father a mock pouty face.

 

Pike groaned. Welcome to fatherhood.


	5. Joke Is On Who?

First on the list of ways to humorously break Admiral Pike into fatherhood was invading the spare bedroom in Pike’s apartment. Jim laughed at Pike’s confused expression, like he wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but ultimately the admiral gave in and let his son take up residence in the other bedroom.  Pike wasn’t even sure why he initially got a two bedroom apartment.  It wasn’t like he had company ever.  He supposed after living in cramped quarters aboard starships most of his adult life, he simply enjoyed having the extra space.

 

But it wasn’t like Jim would be there often given that he’d be out on the Enterprise most of the time anyway.  And then when the younger man was planetside on shore leave they’d be able to spend as much time together as possible and that was something Pike was looking forward to.  And like a ton of bricks, it also hit Pike that grandchildren were something he could possibly be looking forward to as well, especially with the way that Jim pursued the ladies.  A smile tugged at his mouth at the thought of having little ones to spoil rotten and then send home to the parents.  Still, he hoped that Jim found the right woman and settled down rather than have an unexpected child dropped in his lap like Pike just had.

 

Having a grown son arrive unexpectedly in his life had shaken up Pike’s feelings about his own plans for the future. With his injury cutting short his time in the captain’s chair, Pike had begun considering the possibility of starting a family of his own.  That idea seemed awkward now that he had a grown child.  Even though it wouldn’t necessarily feel like starting over for Pike, the image of Jim with siblings nearly 30 years younger was bizarre.  Pike had joked about it over dinner and drinks the evening before and to his surprise, Jim had laughed it off and told Pike to do what made him happy; that he wasn’t going to be jealous because those kids had their dad home to raise them.

 

Jim’s positive attitude about it had eased some of Pike’s worries, but the bigger challenge lay in attracting a young woman at his age. He was no longer in his prime and didn’t have his son’s youthful energy and looks going for him anymore.  He figured he was a handsome enough man, but he did look his age and his limp had to be decidedly unsexy.  He wasn’t sure he’d be able to have the family he imagined.

 

Again, Jim had tried to assuage his father’s worries by finding the bright side.

 

“Look… dad? Okay so you have that limp and you’re not a spring chicken anymore, but you’re still in uniform and if there’s anything women go for it’s a man in uniform.  Might help if you smiled more often though.  Like really smiled.  But I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

What Jim hadn’t counted on the next time he came home on leave was that Pike had plans for the evening. Quietly he keyed open the door with a mischievous smirk.  As an adult, he knew he should probably still knock and wait to be let in, at least until the two of them were more comfortable with the whole father/son thing, but the prankster in him demanded he break Pike in the only way a son should to his father; with mischief. 

 

The young starship captain expected to find his stern, all business father lounging on the couch with a datapadd or at his desk reading reports with a cup of coffee close at hand. It was possible that Pike had gone out or down to the coffee shop around the block, but there was evidence that he might still be in the apartment.  And the evidence looked like the admiral had a date.

 

Jim grinned in unexpected delight at the mess in the kitchen. Pike was something of a neat freak so if there were still dishes strewn about then Admiral Pike was preoccupied.  A bottle of wine had been uncorked at some point that evening and the used wine glasses had made their way to the coffee table in the living room near the fireplace that still glowed with a handful of embers.

 

Assuming they’d left for coffee or something, Jim was about to make himself at home and surprise his father by cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. He froze in horror as the unmistakable sounds of a couple making love could barely be heard emanating from the master bedroom.  Mercifully, the door was closed, but Jim kicked himself mentally for not noticing that when he first came in.  Pike never closed that door unless he was in that room.  Jim should have realized sooner that his father was still home with his date.

 

It felt like an out of body experience. Jim’s mind kept screaming at him to exit the apartment quickly and quietly before his father realized he was there.  His body though was paralyzed as if everything had been reduced to super slow motion.  He suspected that for most children, young children or adults, catching your parents in the act rated high on the list of nightmare scenarios.  And while Jim was hearing them rather than seeing them, the experience was no less unnerving.

 

Finally wrenching himself out of the momentary paralysis, Jim quietly made his way back to the front door. He shook his head violently in the vain hope that he could put of his mind the mounting cries and moans coming from the master bedroom.  He grimaced as the door clicked as it opened.  Common sense told him that they probably wouldn’t hear the click over their own voices, but dread that they’d be disturbed overrode rational thought.

 

Gently, he pulled the door shut behind him as he exited the apartment. Leaning against the wall, he let his head fall back and a deep exhale of relief escaped him.

 

He’d never sneak into his father’s apartment again. Ever.

 

He did need to find out who the woman was though; just so he could rib his father about it.

 

A huge grin spread over his boyishly handsome face as he plotted and schemed about how he was going to acquire such information, but the smile vanished as it dawned on him that his old man was getting laid and he wasn’t.

 

It wasn’t supposed to work like that, was it?


End file.
